


A Life Protected by Battle

by Isdeine



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, Marvel Adventures: Avengers, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, Other, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2014-11-04
Packaged: 2018-01-04 03:36:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1076066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isdeine/pseuds/Isdeine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU Where Clint Barton and Natasha Romanoff give away their daughter, Katniss, to protect her, only for her life to be risked again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When She Left

**Author's Note:**

> "It only takes one generation to brainwash a population, and convince them reality doesn't exist." -Kaede, Prodigy by Marie Lu

_They had suffered quite a lot._

As her parents, they had the right to do it and the obligation to do it, even though that would come with the infinitely sufferable consequences to it. As for Clint, he tried to be strong, but he imagined all the moments that were to come. The little girl would go throughout her life without knowing who his father really was. And worst of all, she would pass most of her life without him. A parental and caring feeling took over him, something not usual for him. At least he would show her how to be strong like her mother, and how not to let her feelings decide for her. At least, that’s what Natasha had, and would have done.

As for Natasha, she would never hear her say the word mommy to her; in fact, cracks in her heart grew when she thought that her ears would never hear her voice say any word. She would never know her, and that was the righteous way it had to be done. But it was a horrible way to be done. Even though throughout her life her heart and body were made of steel, they fragilely collapsed to every thought of the little girl. At least, she hoped that she would be as strong as her mother and as skilled as her father. She had the Romanoff mark, even though she would never know it.

But it was necessary.

They both knew that her fragile and precious life would be ended shortly if she stayed with them; and that the suffering would be worse for the three of them. The only way things would be as they should be, was that the outer threats of Snow’s dark reign were gone, but they both knew deep in their mind it wasn’t that way.

How they wished that man was gone. Natasha had nightmares by watching him silently drinking her daughter’s blood. Her little and fragile body, lying lifeless on the ground. Every night she had the same dream; every night it shook her emotions violently. Clint imagined every they having one of his arrows on his neck, but he knew it wasn’t that easy.

Snow had been a threat ever since he started taunting S.H.I.E.L.D.;, but they had been foolish and underestimated him. The just saw him as a lab nerd with a desire of fame. Little did they know his next move; Chase Schlimme had managed to hack all the S.H.IE.L.D. systems, making him a threat and putting him in jail, in California. There, he worked with normal food (without anyone’s knowledge) to create a powerful amnesiac. After that he was moved to Virginia, something believed consequence of his allies. In there, in 2 years he created a bomb prototype containing the previous mentioned substance. With the help of his “allies”, he bombed all major cities, still being held captive in Virginia. He planned to do even more damage, but S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were able to stop it. S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are the only ones who remember their memory after that incident.  
Chase Schlimme changed his name to Coriolanius Snow and started ruling what he called the nation of Panem; and he started tricking people into believing that Panem had existed for 50 years. Everybody who knew the truth wondered how he had done it. That amnesiac was no simple substance; one of its side effects included confusing the neurons and the mental equivalence of a hypochondriac. People started believing in the “new memories” and making them their own. He divided the burgesses, rich and middle classed people into 12 districts; making them poor and in disadvantage- Only the people he trusted, some of the poor, and some of the rich were admitted into his utopia: The Capitol.

His following action was something outrageous, terrible and just cruel: he created what he called The Hunger Games. 24 adolescents in a fight to the death, to imply fear and hatred on people, with only one winner, to imply just a drop of hope. He started the 50th Anniversary Hunger Games, to keep the lie he was covering. But Schlimme, better said, Snow, knew S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were out there, somewhere. Suddenly, a great part of participants of the Hunger Games were related to S.H.I.E.L.D. members.

None of them survived.

\- - - - -

Clint and Natasha knew that they had to keep themselves safe, but it wouldn’t last for long. After a time passed, they had a child: a little girl. They both painfully knew that if she stayed with them, the lovely girl wouldn’t survive; so they started making a plan.

Azaelia Summer was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that had never liked to do field missions, and had entered S.H.I.E.L.D. after Schlimme’s hacking, making her the perfect cover. The plan consisted in her going to the lowest district: District Twelve, so she wouldn’t be watched closely. There, she would raise the little girl as if she was her own, give her a different name and also making her believe the present had existed for more than 50 years. Azaelia changed her name to Althea Everdeen, even though she was only known as Mrs. Everdeen. It was the only way to keep their daughter safe and alive; at least until they figured out a way to stop the madness of a world reborn out of hatred.

At least both Natasha and Clint agreed on the name (not after arguing about it for a little while): Katniss. It was the only solid memory that would stay within the years; the only connection she had to them.

Althea had a husband; but he did not live with her, making the plan at least a little flexible. The four (Althea, her husband, Natasha and Clint) agreed that Mr. Summer would live away and only visit Althea when Katniss wasn’t there. But this didn’t mean Katniss would grow without the love of a father; Clint would visit them every other time to watch her, and to see her grow, as his father, without his real name. He would pretend to be Mr. Everdeen, “working in the mines”. If the whole matter became risky, he would stay away.

He would show her to be strong; to defend herself. Everything she would need from a father; at least, that was the closest they could both get to her.

\- - - - -

It was May when she had to leave: she still looked small enough so they would believe she had recently been born. Natasha’s eyes just watched her little girl go away from her arms, taking a bit of her life with her. If Snow wasn’t stopped, this would be the last time she saw her; and she knew she would regret it the rest of her life. Clint hugged her softly and she rested her head on his shoulder, showing the parents they could never be, watching their child go away for good.


	2. "A Little from Daddy"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint teaches little Katniss in his ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I haven't updated. I'm working on other stuff, and honestly, I wan't sure about this one. Luckily, I found some inspiration and here it is. Hope you like it!

When Katniss was little, she used to watch the stars, joined by her mother, waiting for her dad to come home. She always wished for him to come more often; because of his job at the mines, she barely saw him. He used to arrive very late in the night, and leave very early in the morning, as her mother told her. But sometimes, just sometimes, he would arrive home early- and spend the evening with her and after some years, with her little sister Prim. 

This was what she believed. However, Clint only visited her house when she saw him. It was very nice to see their daughter grow, but most of the time, he fantasized about having a normal life with his family; however, it was clear that, since he and Nat were in S.H.I.E.L.D., that was never going to be a possibility. 

Katniss was very much like her mother; strong minded, and quick on her decisions. However, she was also like her father. At first, she was very sentimental, and she was always joking around. 

After years of seeing the situation they had to live in, Clint decided it was time for something he had dreamed about for years: teaching archery to little Katniss. 

“Daddy, we can’t go through there.” Katniss said, while she and he dad stood in front of the fence that led to the woods. 

“Why not?” He said, as he lifted part of the fence, letting the girl go through, and afterwards, going through himself. 

“What is this place?” The girl asked.

“It’s the woods, Katniss. Today, I’m going to teach you how to hunt.”

“But- animals have feelings too, don’t they?”

Clint chuckled. He’d imagine the response from the kid, and it was no surprise since she had grown next to Althea. He lowered to her level, crouching in his knees.

“Well, yes, but it’s a natural cycle. I bet you’ll see it in school.”

“Ooh, I remember! But, how are we going to hunt?”

“With this.” Clint said, taking out his beloved bow from the large bag they were carrying. “Come here, I’ll show you.”

Little Katniss got close to her father, putting herself next to the bow. 

“First, you take an arrow, like this one.” He said, pulling an arrow from the bag. “Then, you place it in the middle of the bow, pulling this string backwards.”

The kid was a fast learner, since she quickly placed the arrow and pulled the string back, just like her father. Maybe she had inherited her father’s skills. 

“You keep pulling back, and then, pop! You let it go.” 

“Do it again, do it again!” 

“Now, we’ll do it together, how does that sound?”

The girl quickly got another arrow from the bag, and stood next to him, waiting for instructions. 

In no time, she was shooting arrows everywhere; it was clear she was Hawkeye’s daughter. 

“Come on, one more time!” She said, as Clint stood up. 

“We have to go home. The sun is setting, and Mom will be worried.” However, he didn’t want it to end either.

“Fine.” The girl said, with a disappointed look at the ground. 

“Don’t worry. We’ll come on the next day I can, ok?”

“Promise?”

“Promise.” He said, as he grabbed the little girl’s hand and turned to go back to her home.


	3. The Hanging Tree

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Second Day in the Woods

It was another day in the woods.

They were standing in front of the fence.

Little Katniss was growing, even though it had only been a year since Clint saw her.

“Dad, are we hunting today?” She said.

Clint smiled, and adjusted his ear aids, as he had heard her voice very loudly. “Yes, Katniss. Today’s the day.”

She raised her fist in the air, but Clint crouched next to her.

“Shhh. Let no one hear us.” He said. In part, it was to keep the prey from knowing they were there, but also to keep _others_ from knowing they were there.

 

He lifted the fence, and let the little girl go first.

“Can I use your bow, daddy?” She said, eagerly to start.

Clint approached the tree that was near them, from the back.

“Why don’t you use your own?” Clint said, taking out a small, carved bow he had hid in the tree. Natasha had helped him to do it, as he knew how to make it, but he didn’t know how small enough.

 

Katniss’s eyes widened, and glinted full of excitement. She took the bow between her hands, admiring it as if it were some sacred object.

 

“Look-“ said Clint, crouching next to her- “there’s a deer.”

“But it’s too big daddy, what if I don’t hit him?” She said. “Or what if I hurt him without killing him?”

“Relax. Just follow my lead.” He said, whispering.

 

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

 

After the day had passed, Clint and little Katniss were sitting by the hill, looking towards the District.

Clint started to whistle a song, enjoying the moment.

“What’s that song, dad?” Katniss asked.

 

He remembered Natasha singing it, and he sang it to her when she couldn’t sleep.

 

“It’s a song I learned at the mines.” He said.

 

_Are you, are you,_

_Coming to the Tree?_

_Where they strung up a man,_

_They say who murdered three._

_Strange things have happened here,_

_No stranger would it seem,_

_If we met at midnight, in the Hanging Tree._

_Are you, are you?_

_Coming to the Tree?_

_Where a dead man called out_

_For his love to flee_

_Strange things have happened here,_

_No stranger would it seem,_

_If we met at midnight, in the Hanging Tree._

_Are you, are you?_

_Coming to the Tree?_

_Where I told you to run_

_So we’d both be free_

_Strange things did happen here,_

_No stranger would it seem,_

_If we met at midnight in the Hanging Tree._

_Are you, Are you?_

_Coming to the Tree?_

_Where a necklace of rope_

_Side by side with me_

_Strange things did happen here,_

_No stranger would it seem,_

_If we met at midnight in the Hanging Tree._

_.-.-.-.-.-.-.-._

On the way home, Katniss hummed the tune.

She had a great voice, just like her mother. He knew he would lead up to be like her.

He hoped.

 

“Can we come back again daddy? Will you promise it again?” She said, looking at her dad as they held hands.

“I promise.” He said, putting out his pinkie finger.


	4. Shutting Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was finally time to say goodbye; to cut the wire for her to survive.

 

It was over.

They couldn’t see her anymore.

Technically, Nat hadn’t seen her, but at least she had heard the stories from Clint. But now, there wouldn’t be stories left to tell. The darkness pulled the family apart like a hurricane, as the soft watch the parents had on their daughter was suddenly cut off.

 

The promise was broken.

 

It had been some time since little Katniss knew how to hunt- as Clint had showed her. Days and months went by, even some years passed. But the monster was lurking in the shadows, waiting for the prey to catch the bait.

 

The prey was faster. However, that didn’t mean that everything would be the same. The prey was now wary and careful, just like the spider you almost step on.

 

Snow was close. In the summer, he had been getting very close, shortening the visits of Clint to Katniss’ home.

 

He finally hit the jackpot.

On the days that followed, an “accident” happened in the mines. A terrible tragedy that left many families impaired, without parents and sons, brothers and uncles. Forever more, they would be a blank. A family member less to feed, a family member less to talk to.

However, Snow had been very, very clever.

Among the casualties, one man lied, his body burnt to the point of being almost unrecognizable.

Summer.

Which meant that there was no possibility for the Everdeen family to have a father among them.

It was Clint’s time to say goodbye.

 

The three girls (Azaelia, Katniss, and Primrose, Summer’s daughter) looked at the coffin, closed forever now. Katniss remembered all those moments in the woods, and hugging her daddy goodnight.And even though tears rolled down her face, she never wished for anything else to happen- she just wanted him back.

 

Azaelia fell into depression- the man that she had fought among with, that she had trusted enough to get into this, was long gone, impossible to take back to the world.

 

And that was the moment that Katniss showed her true nature.

After mourning for her “father”, she was the one who was strong to move forward.

It was her who took hold of the family. She was who helped them survive and thrive, through hunting and traps, through selling and even robbing.

Her Natasha was showing.

 

And as the years passed by, the parents watched from afar, slowly, as they smiled, proud.

Their daughter would have been a great agent. She wasn’t let down by emotions, she was strong and skilled; and that disappointed them a little. They didn’t want her to spend her life the same way they did. But they remembered; she wouldn’t. Society was completely changed and messed up for it to be the same. If anything, it would help her to act that way.

 

The light of their past would shine her along her way, even if she didn’t know it was burned within her genes. _Katniss Barton-Romanov._ How would that have sounded, huh?

They would never get to hear it that way. That was for sure this time.

 

But in the times of despair, the spider shall come once more, and the bird shall hunt the most.

 

As that is what they must do to survive.


	5. Just a Piece of Paper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A paper symbolized all their fears; just a slip of it.  
> It was the day of the reaping.

It was a sunny day of June; well, it was supposed to be.  
  
Katniss was sitting the woods with Gale. It was the day of the Reaping.  
  
Clint and Natasha were in the bunker, as usual. They had stayed there for years now, benevolently watching from afar.  
  
It was a day that they all expected to come. A day that the four of them wanted to stop from actually existing, even if they showed not actual interest on it.  
The Hunger Games. 74th, According to Snow.  
Lies. It was the 20th.  
Still, 20 years of suffering and brutal, ruthless murder, towards just.. kids.  
  
Most of the children of fellow SHIELD agents were gone. Hell, most of fellow SHIELD agents were gone.  
Every year, they watched the reaping. Hopefully, Katniss had never gotten into the Hunger Games.  
It was their intention to keep it that way. Sometimes, they even managed to do some sabotage on the names of the reaping, removing a few of Katniss's slips, and some of Gale's in the way. He was her best friend, after all. It was what Nat would've done for Clint.  
  
However, this year, they had been unable to.  
  
No changes had been made to that bowl. Which meant- Katniss had 20 slips in the bowl. 20 chances of getting picked.  
  
They always broadcasted the signal to the Capitol, and from the bunker, they were able to intercept that signal- allowing them to watch the event. However, as soon as the women's name was said, Clint dismissed the signal and let it go. They didn't exactly bother to watch the men's. Their hate for the whole event was always increasing, always burning within them- and that wasn't a good match with watching the reaping.  
  
Katniss was older now. She was a teenager- who had to become a woman early. She had grown with a strong character, like her mother; she had learned to hold her emotions, so she would be able to do what she was supposed to do. However, her father's traits were also shown, careless and sarcastic, with always a good eye for detail and focus.  
  
Natasha liked to think that she was an improved combination; she was a caring person, someone who looked for the next person's need before hers. And well, that wasn't exactly a trait she had. Clint was better, but not exactly in that way. They were trained to be agents, different from the rest.  
  
She remembered the time when she had encountered Banner for the first time; that a little girl had drawn him to her, and that he had questioned if agents started that young. At that time, the comment wasn't important. But now, she imagined what would have happened if Katniss had grown up as an agent- and couldn't bear it. In a way, a very, very slight- and selfish, in her point of view- way, she was grateful for that. That she didn't grow to be like her parents.  
  
The reaping was about to start. Katniss stood in the crowd, just behind Primrose, Azaelia's daughter. She had always believed that she was her sister. A little sister she took care of and cared for.  
She just stood there, squinting towards the podium.  
They just sat there, staring at the projection.  
  
A 'well dressed' woman from the Capitol stood in the podium. Clint always mocked the people from the Capitol; he thought that they looked all like a freak show's parade. Natasha just looked at them with disdain.  
The woman's annoyingly high-pitched voice echoed in the plaza. It was clear that no one cared about her words of praise- and that they wanted to get over with this as soon as possible.  
  
A clip was shown- one that came every year. To keep the whole act. The lie embodied in a digital form.  
As soon as that was over, the woman walked towards the bowl.  
The bowl full of papers. The bowl with 20 slips of paper that said Katniss Everdeen.  
  
Natasha reached for Clint's hand, holding it tight. She almost took out all the oxygen out of it.  
However, Clint tried to remain calm, even though he was the most emotional of the two. Natasha didn't say a word, or move a muscle; she just looked directly at the projection in front of them.  
  
Katniss looked at the bowl, hoping that whoever came out wasn't anyone she knew.  
As slow as the time could pass, the woman walked towards the microphone.  
 _"Prim-"_  
Katniss's, Natasha's, and Clint's eyes widened instantly.  
  
Primrose. As if Azaelia wasn't broken enough.  
  
The little blond girl, scared, started to make her way forward.  
Then, out of the blue, something none of the three had expected to happen, did. 

  


Natasha screamed along with the screams of her daughter.  
Katniss was going to the arena.


End file.
